Uralikan Jalkapalloliiga
The Uralikan Jalkapalloliiga (Engl. Uralican Football League, Russ. Ураликская Футболская Лига), sometimes abbreviated UJPL, is the Uralican national football (soccer) league tournament run by the Uralikan Palloliitto. League Structure The UJPL comprises five divisions: The Bolakliiga, the Ykkönen, the Kakkonen, the Kolmonen, and the Nelonen. A sixth division, the Vitonen, will be added in 2011. The Bolakliiga is the uppermost division, comprising twenty teams and relegating the bottom three after each season. The next level down is the Ykkönen, which practices an English-style promotion scheme - the top two teams at the end of the season are promoted automatically, while the next four in line go into a two-round playoff (single-leg in both rounds), and the winner of this playoff is promoted. The Kakkonen is somewhat more complex. It has two divisions of 20 teams each, Eastern and Western (as of 24 September 2009), and only the top team of each division is automatically promoted, while only the second-place team actually gets a crack at a playoff. This is also two-fold. The two second-place teams first play against each other, then they play against the third-worst Ykkönen team (the two worst are automatically relegated). Relegation from Kakkonen is even more complex, because the Kolmonen, the second-lowest level, has eight divisions of 24 teams each. One team is promoted from each of the eight divisions - Zones A, B, C, and D into West, and Zones E, F, G, and H into East - while the four worst teams from the two divisions are relegated. The divisions will shrink to 20 teams each in 2011. The counties/unitary authorities in each division are as follows: *'Zone A' - Karelia and Sapmi counties. *'Zone B' - Arkhangel'sk-Severodvinsk UA, Vologda UA, Cherepovets UA, Woodlands, West Uralica, Northwest Uralica, Kotlas *'Zone C' - Mari El, Chuvashia, Mordovia *'Zone D' - Kirov UA, Syktyvkar UA, Mennoland, Komiland, Kirovski Rayon *'Zone E' - Udmurtiya North, Udmurtiya South, Izhevsk UA *'Zone F' - Permski Rayon, Perm' UA *'Zone G' - Southeast Uralica, Nizhny Tagil UA, Yekaterinburg UA *'Zone H' - East Uralica, Northeast Uralica, Central Uralica, Pechora, Nenetsia-North Uralica, Ukhta-Sosnogorsk UA, Yugra, Yamalia. Solikamsk-Berezniki and Kudymkar Circle are interchangeable between Zones F and H. The Nelonen takes the zones a step further, with each of the Kolmonen zones being partitioned into X1 and X2. The divisions currently have 24 teams each, however this number will also shrink to twenty after this season. *'Sub-Zone A1' - Karelia *'Sub-Zone A2' - Sapmi *'Sub-Zone B1' - West Uralica, Vologda, Cherepovets, and Kotlas County ("Western Uralica") *'Sub-Zone B2' - Northwest Uralica, Woodlands, and Arkhangel'sk-Severodvinsk ("Northwestern Uralica") *'Sub-Zone C1' - Chuvashia and Mordovia ("Southern Uralica") *'Sub-Zone C2' - Mari El *'Sub-Zone D1' - Kirovsky Rayon and Kirov *'Sub-Zone D2' - Komiland, Mennoland, and Syktyvkar ("Komi-Menno") *'Sub-Zone E1' - Udmurtiya North *'Sub-Zone E2' - Udmurtiya South and Izhevsk *'Sub-Zone F1' - Northern half of Permsky Rayon *'Sub-Zone F2' - Southern half of Permsky Rayon, plus Perm' ("Permsky Rayon South") *'Sub-Zone G1' - Southeastern/Central Southeast Uralica plus Yekaterinburg ("Yekaterinburg-East") *'Sub-Zone G2' - Western/Northern Southeast Uralica plus Nizhny Tagil ("Nizhny Tagil-West") *'Sub-Zone H1' - Central Uralica, Pechora, Northeast Uralica, Nenetsia-North Uralica, and Ukhta-Sosnogorsk ("Ural West Slope") *'Sub-Zone H2' - Yamalia and Yugra. Solikamsk-Berezniki and Kudymkar Circle are interchangeable between Sub-Zones F1 and H1. These same sub-zones apply to the Vitonen which debuts next season. Now in the Vitonen there is no exact fixed number of teams, however the divisions must have at least ten and at most twenty. Latest News *28 February 2010 - Khalmer-Yu Town, TvinkiZavod Chaykovsky, and Severstal Cherepovets promoted for exemplary play in the Kanslerinkilpi. Such meritocratic promotions will only occur this season. Biggest Rivalries There are a great many rivalries in the UJPL, whether small-scale rivalries between Nelonen teams from the same division, or large-scale rivalries between some of the best clubs in the country. Here are some of the biggest, mainly within the top three levels. A fan poll done in February of 2010 named the following 20 rivalries to be the top ones in Uralica: # SiPS vs. Dinamo Kirov # Dinamo Kirov vs. Kirovin JK # Spartak Ukhta vs. Transit Sosnogorsk # FK Vorkuta vs. FK Inta # Zavod Ural Solikamsk vs. Dinamo Arkhangel'sk # SiPS vs. Dinamo Arkhangel'sk # Isoustiukin Pallokerho vs. Usovuoren Jalkapalloklubi # Ural Yekaterinburg vs. Fortuna Nizhny Tagil # SiPS vs. Zavod Ural Solikamsk # Zavod Ural Solikamsk vs. Metafraks Gubakha # Severstal Cherepovets vs. Sheksna Cherepovets # Trátyi TK vs. Transit Sosnogorsk # Transit Sosnogorsk vs. FK Ukhta # Mashinostroitel Kirov vs. Kirovin JK # Zavod Ural Solikamsk vs. FK Berezniki # Udmurtiya Izhevsk vs. Krylja Uralikov # SiPS vs. Telekom Pazhga # CSKVC Kirov vs. Öskölömen Palloklubi # Ural Yekaterinburg vs. Amkar Perm' # Mennonites FC vs. Telekom Pazhga Category:Sport in Uralica Category:Uralikan Jalkapalloliiga